In this week’s Digits, we try out Asian dating apps for those who are sick of Tinder and OkCupid, review add-on camera lenses to help you take better smartphone pictures and test out smart pens and styluses. Read More »

As one of the largest sources of Internet traffic, Google might have been expected to be a big proponent of a new proposal to bar broadband providers from slowing video downloads from its YouTube service, or charging content providers for “fast lanes.”

But Google, like many of its Silicon Valley peers, was largely silent in the noisy debate that preceded Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler’s Wednesday proposal.

In part, that silence reflects Google’s growing portfolio of businesses, which have given the Internet giant conflicting interests in the debate over “net neutrality.” In particular, Google is now a broadband provider itself, through its Fiber service in Kansas City, and plans to offer its own wireless service. Read More »

Apple has Siri. Now, Amazon introduces Alexa – part of the trend toward giving our computers a voice. The WSJ’s Geoffrey Fowler talks to Alexa to see what she can do – and say. Plus more in this week’s Digits show. Read More »

Amazon.com would really like customers to know about its Prime shipping program. But not too much.

To promote Prime’s 10th anniversary on Monday, the vice president of Prime, Greg Greeley, talked with The Wall Street Journal about the program he oversees. But Greeley was cautious not to reveal too much about Prime that isn’t already known, including presenting membership growth charts with no Y axis. Read More »

Microsoft is investing in a hot startup that’s trying to weaken Google’s hold over Android.

People familiar with the matter say Microsoft is putting money into Cyanogen, which is building a version of the Android mobile-operating system outside of Google’s auspices.

Microsoft would be a minority investor in a roughly $70 million round of equity financing that values Cyanogen in the high hundreds of millions, one of the people said. The person said the financing round could grow with other strategic investors that have expressed interest in Cyanogen because they’re also eager to diminish Google’s control over Android. The identity of the other potential investors couldn’t be learned. Read More »

The Misfit Flash fitness tracker is set to become a wearable button that sends simple commands to apps and devices such as Spotify and the August Smart Lock. The device’s newfound capabilities will arrive in March by way of a software update, said Misfit’s product and design lead Tim Golnik.

“When we’re asking for that precious wrist space, it’s not enough to just tell you how many steps you’ve taken and calories you’ve burned,” Golnik told the Journal. “We also want to make sure all of the smart products we make and we live with can talk to each other and integrate in interesting ways.” Read More »